Campaign to legalize pot in Washington hits $6 million in contributions

Jake Dimmock, co-owner of the Northwest Patient Resource Center medical marijuana dispensary, waters medical marijuana plants in a grow room earlier this month in Seattle. Washington state is on the verge of becoming the first in the nation to let adults over 21 buy taxed, inspected marijuana at state-licensed shops.The Associated Press

The campaign to legalize, regulate and tax the sale of marijuana for adults in Washington state raised more than $500,000 in the second half of this month, putting it at over $6 million in total contributions.

Initiative 502 would set up a state-licensed system for growing, producing and selling marijuana to adults over 21. Financial analysts estimate it could bring the state hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue, but it could also set up a fight with the federal government about whether states can take such steps in light of the federal prohibition on marijuana.